Apples
by Gazing on the Arabesque
Summary: A few days after the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke comes to the academy. Ino is out sick that day, and Sakura decides to sit with him. Unsure of what else to do, she decides to show him kindness in her own little ways. Oneshot.


**Hello! I fail at writing any Naruto pairings, ESPECIALLY SasuSaku and SuiKa. I can't write either of them without making at least one of the characters OOC. So here's the product of my boredom and my desire to write SasuSaku: a little oneshot involving apples. This takes place when Sakura and Sasuke were still at the Academy, a few days after the Uchiha Massacre. Sakura doesn't like Sasuke yet, so if she's OOC, don't give THAT as a reason for it.**

XX

Sakura dragged her feet to the classroom at the Academy. Ino was sick today, and that meant the rest of the girls were going to tease her about her forehead. They all just pretended to be nice whenever Ino was around, but they would always tease Sakura behind her back. She knew she was early, but she couldn't risk being spotted by the other girls on the way to school. The classroom was mostly empty, except for Iruka-sensei writing on the chalkboard and Sasuke sitting alone at one of the desks. Sakura never understood why all the other girls would fawn over Sasuke. Sure he was cute, but then again, all the boys were. "_Ohaiyo_, Sakura," Iruka greeted. Sakura smiled up at him.

"_Ohaiyo_, Iruka-sensei!" she greeted back. She then smiled and waved at Sasuke. "_Ohaiyo_, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn," he replied in his typical monosyllabic language.

"Sakura, may I talk to you for a minute?" Iruka asked. Sakura walked up to him hesitantly, and Iruka crouched down so that he was eye-level with her. His voice was a soft whisper. "I'm sure you've heard of the Uchiha Massacre." Sakura shook her head slowly, and Iruka glanced pitifully at Sasuke. "Sasuke's entire family was killed just a few nights ago." Sakura's emerald eyes widened in shock.

"What?" she whispered. "Why? Who did it? And if they killed the entire family, why didn't they kill Sasuke-kun too?" Iruka sighed.

"I wish I knew… I've heard some rumors that the culprit was Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, but I can't imagine him doing such a thing." Sakura glanced over at Sasuke, who failed to meet her gaze.

"Poor Sasuke-kun…" Iruka smiled sadly.

"I don't want you mentioning _anything_ about this to him, all right?"

"Why not?" Sakura really didn't mean to argue, but she couldn't help herself. "He looks so sad… Maybe someone should say something…" Iruka chuckled softly.

"Too much kindness can be a poison, sometimes. Words aren't what Sasuke needs right now." Sakura stared at the floor in defeat.

"Ok…" She turned her back to Iruka and, in an uncommon surge of boldness, she sat down next to Sasuke. He stared at her questioningly, and she smiled sweetly in return. She had no intention of fawning over him and obsessing about how horrible life must be for him now. All she was going to do was act normal. Slowly, the room filled up as the academy students arrived. Some of the girls glared at her while others simply ignored her. In the end, the one sitting next to her besides Sasuke was Naruto. The lecture was rather boring today, and Sakura dozed off. Of course, the thing to wake her up was Iruka or Mizuki's screams of "NARUTO!!" Unfortunately for him, he wasn't as good at sleeping in class as she was. Lunch time rolled around, and the academy students piled out of the room one by one. Sakura didn't want to move; she was too afraid of facing the other girls. Iruka and Mizuki soon left the classroom, leaving Sakura and Sasuke behind. Everything was silent until…

"Are you going to move, or are you staying here?" Sakura turned to Sasuke.

"Oh…" she mumbled quietly. "I was going to stay here, but I can move if you want—"

"It's fine," Sasuke said sharply, cutting off her ramble. He sighed as he placed his head in his arms. Sakura took out the lunch her mom had prepared for her, glancing over at Sasuke, who just sat there.

"Do you have a lunch?" Sakura blurted out. Sasuke turned his head.

"No," he replied. Sakura smiled and started rambling again.

"Oh yeah, because your clan died and your mom couldn't pack your lunch, and…" She trailed off and clasped both her hands over her mouth, a shocked expression on her face. "No, I wasn't supposed to say that!" Her face turned red. "Sorry…"

"Hn." Sakura bit her lower lip, feeling guilty for what she just said. She reached into her lunch bag, her guilt increasing as she felt Sasuke's eyes on her. Her mom packed a bento for her, as always, and at the bottom was a ripe, juicy apple. She instinctively reached for the apple and held it out to Sasuke.

"Here." Sakura smiled at him, as he stared down at the apple.

"What?"

"Take it. You don't have a lunch, and you'll be so hungry during Iruka-sensei's lecture that you won't be able to sleep. Take it." Sasuke stared at the apple uncertainly.

"Are you sure?" Sakura groaned exasperatedly.

"Yes! I'm sure! Because if you don't take this apple you might starve to death! You'll pass out during Iruka-sensei's lecture, and—"

"I thought you just said I won't be able to sleep because I'll be so hungry." Sakura threw her arms in the air.

"Same difference! Just take the apple!" Sasuke sighed.

"Fine." He smirked and winked at her. "If you insist." Sakura nodded.

"Yes, I insist."

"Ok, _Okaa-san_." Sakura glared at him.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" Sasuke took a bite out of the apple.

"You remind me of my mother." Unable to find a logical comeback to this, Sakura merely stuck her tongue out at him, and Sasuke smirked in return. They were then left in silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura could see some girls spying on her through the window. Within a few minutes, they came rushing into the classroom.

"Sasuke-kuuun!" one squealed. "Take some sweets!" And they shoved the food (mainly sweets) into his face. Sasuke's face twisted in disgust.

"No, I hate sweets," he replied.

"Then what _do_ you like, Sasuke-kun?" another girl asked. He couldn't help smiling at Sakura as he replied.

"_Apples_."

XX

**Ok, so I added a little Japanese in there. For those of you who don't know, "Ohaiyo" means "Good morning," and "Okaa-san" means "Mother". This wasn't really a romance, but more of a friendship fic. PLEASE REVIEW!!**


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